Meryl Meisler: The Sassy ‘70s

Judi Jupiter Weighs the Situation, Westhampton, NY, July 1977.

The 1970s was an age of innocent decadence, the time before the fall, a time where the country cracked open and out of it came creatures with big hair and vibrant personality, the kind of characters that have that old school je ne sais quoi that makes their shenanigans a delight to watch.

As Meisler writes in the introduction, “This book encapsulates my coming of age: The Bronx, suburbia, The Mystery Club, dance lessons, Girl Scouts, the Rockettes, the circus, school, mitzvahs, proms, feminism, Disco, Go-Go, Jewish and LGBT Pride, the New York streets, friendship, family and love. I had to photograph it to make sense of it all. To hold onto the time, to release and share it, to put it in perspective and move on. It was sassy, but also sweet, and so was I.”

Street Ventriloquist, NY, NY, July 1979.

In Meisler’s world, the camera makes people come alive as they seize the moment for all time. Her photographs show people not afraid to let go and slip into character, showing us some of the best parts of life, like the Street Ventriloquist posted up on a milk crate in July, 1979. You know he got jokes. Or the Accordian Lady in the Subway, in January that same year, who, through her good eye, made it clear she appreciated having her portrait taken. I must concur, this is and was a very good thing.

Long Wavy Haired Blonde with Leather Pants Standing in CBGB, NY, NY, April 1978.

Of her early years, Meisler writes, “After graduation, I moved to New York and sublet a room from my cousin Elaine Rosner. I set up a darkroom in the laundry room while studying with Lisette Model, who loved and encouraged my B&W medium format series of family and friends. The city was in fiscal and social turmoil, and I was in transition and chaos myself. My parents were divorcing, and I’d recently ‘come out.’ My Rosner cousins introduced me to artists, writers, musicians, feminists, activists, and intellectuals. We hung out inn East Harlem and the Lower East Side with Latinos, African-Americans Asians, and a wide variety of New Yorkers.”

Plaid Suit and Cadillac in Chelsea, NY, NY, May 1978.

It is those New Yorkers of all stripes and sizes, all walks of life, that make Purgatory & Paradise: SASSY ‘70s Suburbia & The City a collection to page through time and again. It is filled with inspiration, energy, and life. It is all that is good, glamorous, and gorgeous. It is the beauty of the soul made manifest in the joy and pleasure of living upon this earth.

All photographs ©Meryl Meisler.